Futures move higher when investors see inflation data, quarterly earnings
(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as investors awaited December’s inflation numbers and upcoming corporate earnings to assess the health of the world’s largest economy, helped by Treasury yields.
At 05:32 am ET, Dow E-minis were up 142 points or 0.33%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 28.25 points or 0.48%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 137 points or 0.65%.
The producer price index due at 8:30 a.m. ET will be the first of two reports this week that will provide an indication of the state of U.S. inflation.
The index of economists polled by Reuters rose to 3.4 percent from 3.4 percent last month. Among the components that feed into the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index, the US Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the focus will be on health care services, portfolio management fees and airfares.
Excluding volatile items such as food and energy, the PPI index is expected to rise to 3.8% in December. Consumer Price Index data is due on Wednesday.
Quarterly reports from the big banks will be eagerly awaited later this week, with the lenders expected to report stronger earnings on strong trading and trading.
JPMorgan Chase & Co added 0.6%, Morgan Stanley added 0.8% and Citigroup added 0.7% in premarket trading.
Wall Street’s major indexes have been on a downward trend since early December, with the benchmark Dow down more than 6% from last month’s highs and the benchmark S&P 500 at a two-month low.
The central bank’s cautious stance on easing monetary policy this year, coupled with good economic data since then, has raised concerns that inflation may be higher.
US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take office on January 20, and his policy proposals on tariffs and immigration are expected to exacerbate inflation.
Longer-maturity Treasury bonds fell on Tuesday, but are near their highest level since the end of 2023. Analysts have pointed to reports that the incoming administration is considering gradual tariff increases, which would give the US more bargaining power.
Traders have scaled back expectations of a Fed rate cut in 2025 and now see the central bank cutting interest rates by 27.5 basis points by the end of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmidt and New York Fed President John Williams, who will vote on the Federal Open Market Committee members, will be examined for their views on monetary policy easing and the state of the economy.
